Review: “Dirty Dancing: The Official Dance Workout”

I used to be a dancer so for me, “Dirty Dancing” is the dance movie of all dance movies. When I reviewed the “Dancing With the Stars Latin Cardio Dance” workout DVD, I saw the trailer for “Dirty Dancing: The Official Dance Workout” and was instantly smitten.

The DVD starts with an introduction of the instructors Johnny and Tracey. Tracey walks out carrying a watermelon, a reference to the movie. How silly.

Anyway, then it gets good. Johnny and Tracey start with a syllabus that breaks down the different steps that are used in the dances later. This is a very good idea that I think all dance-inspired workout DVDs should use. It’s very easy to forget the steps if you learn them as you do the dances, but by learning and repeating them beforehand, you can pick up the choreography more quickly and thereby feel less frustrated and tempted to quit.

Then it’s on to the routines. The first is “Love Man.” It’s not a fast routine and there are a lot of core movements. The second is “Yes,” which is more upbeat and has a lot of traveling, turning and jumping. The third is “Johnny’s Mambo,” which is full of Latin moves (and I have to confess myself a little disappointed that the famous lift wasn’t at least given a mention here – it’s all I could think about during this routine) and the last is “Do You Love Me,” another upbeat routine with steps like the Mashed Potato and the Twist. (I had flashbacks to my third-grade dance recital to this exact song with those two exact dance moves.)

The best part about these routines is that they can be done three ways: Instruction only, instruction with music, or music only. When you get good enough, you can go straight to music only and not have to listen to the cheesy dialogue – “This is my dance space; that is your dance space” – that the instructors pull from the film.

Finally, at the very end is the “Dirty Dancing Saturday Night Edition” challenge, where all four routines are done back to back without any instruction. This is the best part of the whole DVD. It feels like the end of a dance class, where you just go full out and have fun.

All in all, this workout is very fun. Of course it’s silly at some points, but look at the movie it’s based on! (I love the movie, but I can admit it’s ridiculous.)

If you love to dance, you will have a good time. If you treat it like a class and really put effort into it (read: let loose and have fun), you will break a sweat and enjoy yourself. Make sure you watch until the very end, too. Johnny and Tracey bust out the slow-motion dip. So at least you’ll end with a good laugh.